An Ocean of Paths and Links
by Maginary
Summary: Zarya never asked to live a second life in a universe she only dreamed could be real. But she won't throw away this second chance at life, even if she had to be stuck to the Chosen One, change the story and lose a piece of her sanity along the way.
1. Sunshine and Laser Guns

Chapter 1: Sunshine and Laser Guns

Her awareness came back to her when she reached 5 years old, and to say she was shocked is an understatement. To be an (almost) full grown woman, die and be reborn for a second time is not what anyone could predict would happen to them, except maybe for those who believe in reincarnation. She was not one of them. While she did believe in some kind of higher power, every concept of gods and deities seemed too numerous and diverse for any of them to be true, all created from human's imagination and beliefs.

Although, as she looked down at her tiny, still chubby hands, she couldn't help but think that if there truly was divinity, whatever shape or form it had, it must be mocking her. Or maybe it was a form of punishment for whatever bad things she did, to make her re-live a life from childhood to adulthood again. But for the life of her she couldn't remember doing anything worth this cosmic joke. She couldn't even remember dying, but she did have a vague memory of pain and darkness.

However mad she was at said celestial, she was still thankful to have no memories of being a baby. Nursing, soiling herself, having no form of communication except crying and the mind-numbing _boredom _of doing nothing all day would certainly have killed her a second time, she was certain.

Still being a girl and human was another thing to be grateful for.

Because yes, being something else than human could have been a concern if she would have known beforehand in what universe she was going to be thrown into. At first, it was the languages being spoken that confused her. Having some fuzzy memories of her previous life, there isn't a single language around her that she could recognize from before, or even be familiar with how they sound.

The second unusual thing she observed were the definitely _not _human people walking around.

The very first time she saw an alien, she just kept looking at it, her brain not fully comprehending what her eyes were seeing. She was still looking at it after she was hit upside the head for being rude, gazing unwaveringly at the strange creature in front of her.

In her defense, her first alien encounter, that she can remember, was with a species that wasn't at all humanoid in appearance, (she later learned he was called an Ongree) and it took a moment for her to realize that it was indeed a person, and not some strange alien fauna.

After that awkward realization that no, humans weren't the only sentient species in the universe, she kept looking around to observe more aliens. While she knew, logically, that planet Earth couldn't possibly be the only planet containing life, she never dreamed of being able to meet and even live among other-worldly life forms in her lifetime, and she wasn't about to let the opportunity of learning about them slip through her fingers. But the more she kept looking, the more some of these aliens seemed familiar, like she had seen them somewhere before. Suspicion started to grow in her mind, until their undeniable confirmation came to her when she truly observed her surroundings. Sand. Everywhere.

And two suns.

The brawl happening right next to her because of an overpriced good that quickly escalated to shooting at each other with laser guns was another pretty big clue to her whereabouts.

Star Wars. Even worse, she was on Tatooine, home to innumerable criminals, slave owners and other scums. Even _worse_ than worse, there was a higher power, and it definitely wanted something from her to bring her here, specifically. She was probably in a lot of trouble, wasn't she?

Who was she kidding? She was royally _fucked_.

( ( ) )

Her name here was Zarya, no family name. To her surprise, she looked quite different, yet similar then what she was used too, her previously pale skin even paler, her brown hair now more red and her blue eyes bordering on green, giving them a turquoise color. She could even already tell that her features will become sharper as she grows up, very different than her usually round face, like she had never lost all her baby fat.

From what little knowledge she had of the toddler that grew up on this world, she understood that she was in some sort of unofficial orphanage on Tatooine, and she had been raised here since she was an infant. Like most children here, her family probably died in some way, but even this she couldn't be certain. Abandonment was as likely as murder for all she knew.

While her first thought might have been that she was lucky compared to many, her life wasn't sunshine and rainbows. Scratch that, her life was _way_ too much sunshine than she even knew was possible, and like anything in too much quantity, it was definitely bad, especially for someone who was used to four seasons with a huge diversity of temperature, those being comfortably warm summers and freezing winters with sometimes three foot high of snow. What she would give to see ice in any form again… or a rainbow. Or even rain. Anything other than scorching days, cold nights and sandstorms.

Apart from the environment of the planet she lived on, her life here could have been worse, but also better. The orphanage, if it could even be called that, was more some kind of refuge for orphans too young to be any kind of use to anyone. The keepers, as they had all taken to call them, were not unkind with the children, but they didn't particularly care either. For them, this was only another kind of business, a way to make money.

In an honestly brutal way, it was some kind of human (sentient being?) trafficking, were the owners of the place took the orphaned babies and toddlers and either raised them until they could be sold to a slave owner or adopted, though even the later required the new parents to pay, and then the refuge didn't care at all what happens to you after. Considering that the first and most common option is slavery, they wouldn't mind what becomes of you anyway.

The only upside Zarya could see was that they weren't really treated badly. The older ones did have to work around the establishment, mostly clean and run simple errands at the market, but it wasn't anything that they couldn't handle at the number they were. The worst punishment they received was to be locked in a small and dark room when they really misbehaved, and while that may be terrifying for most of the kids, she was only relieved it wasn't anything worse, like the true slaves most likely suffered.

Her currently tolerable living conditions didn't erase the fact that her future here was most likely bleak, and she had to find a way to get out of here, and _fast. _Five years old (or was it life days old?) was still pretty young, but she was at an age were some people could start seeing her usefulness in certain situations, and she dreaded to think what would happen to her if someone bought her because of her admittedly pretty appearance. Older mentally or not, a life like this one, or any sort of unwilling servitude was not a welcomed one. But there was still the problem of how she could escape this at all.

While the children here didn't have a bomb implanted in them to prevent them from escaping, they did possess a tracker somewhere under their skin, so they can be found wherever they are, and so the keepers can be aware of their comings and goings at all times. Not that a small child could go anywhere without any help, but for their owners, having their merchandize stolen wouldn't be very profitable. She guessed it was some kind of safety, preventing her from being kidnapped by worse people then her current owners; it still didn't help her to escape this wretched planet.

Another important detail would be to discover where she was in time. Truly anything was possible, being in the outer rims, not much knowledge was around about the state of the galaxy. It could be possible to find an outsider and get information from them, but she wasn't allowed many interactions with strangers. Her thoughts kept coming back to the same issue. Was the republic still here? The Empire? Or maybe the First Order? What if she was years, even decades or centuries before or after the movies she knew?

Zarya wasn't ashamed to say that she was a big fan of the Star Wars universe, even if some of the movies weren't as good as the others. She might have enjoyed them and even extended her knowledge when she had time to lose, but that didn't mean she wanted to be in that universe. So much pain and destruction on an enormous scale, she wasn't sure she could do anything to stop it, or even avoid it. But she would still prefer to be in a time where she could predict most of the events that would occur than being in an era she knew almost nothing about.

But for now, she would wait. There wasn't really any other option, with her age and situation, her actions were limited. If she was going to follow the stories, change them or run from them, she didn't know yet. Whatever her choice may be, her first course of action should be to learn to defend herself, because like hell she would be stay defenseless in a vast galaxy filled with dangers at every turn, ranging from dangerous creatures to Sith Lords. All she had to do was gather knowledge, and start from there.

On second thought, she would have preferred to be an Ewok. Apart from this one battle, at least they were left alone for the most part.

**(**

**Hi there! This is my first story, so every constructive criticism is appreciated, or a simple show of appreciation! If you see any error, keep in mind that English isn't my first language, but I will gladly correct it if you point it to me. **

**Also, any idea you are willing to share to improve this story or even guide it in a certain direction will be taken into consideration since I will probably need the inspiration occasionally, but I still have the last say on the result.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do! Until next time!**

**-Maginary**

***Disclaimer: I don't own anything Star Wars related, only my OC's***

**)**


	2. The Force of Silence

Chapter 2: The Force of Silence

She had made a mistake. Somehow, even after realizing where she was and what power resided in everyone through midi-chlorians, she had forgotten about the very real possibility of possessing a great number of those microscopic life-form herself.

Turns out, she does. And Zarya can't say if she is happy about it or not.

She was walking alone in a plaza, sent on an errand to buy provisions that would help feed the orphans for the rest of the week. She was now six standard years old and therefore judged old enough to wander alone in a potentially dangerous desert city. If the people who allowed this were stupid or if they were making her used to serving others, she wasn't completely sure. Anyhow, she was aimlessly observing the numerous stands, bag in hand, humming quietly a song from her first life and avoiding the shifty looking people on her way back at the orphanage, when it happened.

Now, when taking into consideration the planet she is on, witnessing acts of violence and even cold blooded murder on occasion was unfortunately not a rare occurrence. Seeing slaves everywhere and injustice was also disgustingly common. She normally stayed away from such dangers to avoid becoming collateral damage or to be tempted to stop others from being hurt, but this one, she couldn't ignore.

A girl, a tiny, green twi'lek barely older than her, was being dragged away by a much bigger and older alien, a specie Zarya couldn't help but find familiar. With a pig-like appearance, sickly green skin and beady black eyes, the scene he made with the little girl was already alarming. His armour and tall battle-axe only sent more warning bells in her head.

At first, Zarya tried to look away, knowing that she couldn't do a thing without worsening the situation, but the desperate, pleading scream of the child caused her to look her way again. For a fraction of a second that seemed endless, their eyes locked together.

Instantly, fear raced across her whole body, adrenaline kicking in.

"_Please! No, not again! It hurts, I don't want to suffer this again!"_

She knew by instinct that the pleading voice she heard was the twi'lek girl's, as were the emotions now taking possession of her own body. It was as if the girl's soul was completely open for Zarya to watch and feel, and not a single barrier separated it from hers. She saw a flow of memories that didn't belong to her, the ones at the forefront being images of the girl being beaten for disobeying orders. Screams, words in a foreign language and harsh threats jumbled together created a cacophony of sounds she couldn't follow, but were unneeded to understand the situation.

That child, that _slave,_ was about to be beaten again for trying to escape her master.

Without a single thought, Zarya ran towards the girl and in an unnatural show of strength, pushed the too big assailant off his victim. Surprised, he let go of the child, stumbling on the uneven ground and falling in the sand. The distraction, however short, was enough to give a chance for the young girl to escape. She looked back to Zarya one last time before running away. Again, no words where needed for Zarya to feel her gratitude.

Perceiving the assailant getting up from the corner of her eyes, she didn't waste another minute before running away herself in another direction, towards the orphanage. When stumbling on the previous scene, she hadn't noticed the other aliens like him, all coming in his direction. Now, the ones nearest to her put themselves in her way, blocking her escape.

Adrenaline still pumping in her veins and guiding her actions, she thrust he arm forward, pushing the first one backwards and making him fall on his back. Stunned by the strange power, the others paused, giving her time to run past them. Also shocked by her own actions, she glanced a few times backwards, barely avoiding the ones who tried to grab her by ducking and twirling clumsily around their hold. As soon as her path was clear, she sprinted as fast as she could on the shifty sand to reach the nearest buildings, turning many times in different alleys to lose her potential pursuers. When she was certain of her safety, she stopped slowly, her hand above her racing heart, until finally she leaned on the wall next to her and took big gulps of air to try and catch her breath.

Now that her mind was a bit clearer, her thoughts kept playing the event on loop, trying to grasp the extent of just what happened.

She had used the force.

More than that, she had felt the emotions of another person, and read their thoughts like an open book. If she hadn't already realized she had somehow landed herself in a fantasy world, this was definitely the last proof she needed. Although, telepathy and empathy weren't abilities she could have predicted having.

As soon as she was in control of her breathing, she inhaled through her nose, finally noticing the smell of rotten food and other suspicious substances she didn't care to identify. Her hastily chosen hiding place was probably behind some low quality cantina, and therefore near the trash bins. Shifting her weight, she stood back up and made her way back again, only now noticing the bag of food in her left hand she miraculously kept the whole time. Checking inside to make sure she didn't lose anything, she quickened her pace to make it back before anyone noticed she was late. She would have to contemplate her new powers later if she wanted to avoid punishment.

Hurrying, she made sure to take the safest path she knew, away from the bars and similar establishments that promised to cater to less than honourable clients, some probably drunk even in the late afternoon.

Her return was less than welcomed when she arrived. So they had noticed her delay. Oops.

( ( ) )

"Never, in all the children I possessed, have I had the displeasure of raising one as air-headed and insolent as you! What do you think you were doing, interfering in a business that doesn't concern you? You inconsiderate, reckless…"

Of course, the scuffle she unintentionally made couldn't have stayed secret. 'I do wonder how they got wind of this with only a tracker.'

"…promise you, if it was allowed, I would remove your privileges, or better! Beat some sense and respect into you…"

'Ah, but no! Can't have you damaging the merchandize, can we?' Zarya thought with a cynical smile she hurriedly repressed.

"…and the palace's guards, too! Do you know the trouble we would be into if the great Jabba learned of this? Because of you, he lost one of his servants! We must hope he doesn't link us to this mess, he would probably demand you as repayment…"

'…making you lose money? What a terrible loss, I can't help but despair at the thought.'

Even though the words were at the tip of her tongue, Zarya didn't let a single one escape her lips, in case her punishment could worsen. The keeper's hold on her harm, reminiscent of the guard's on the twi'lek, tightened while she dragged her farther in the hallway, occasionally shaking her when the female was at the peak of her arguments.

It turned out that the pig-looking guards were _Jabba's_ guards, which explained their familiar appearance, and she couldn't help but agree on the _trouble_ part if the giant slug ever found out she was the culprit. From what she could gather, the young slave had escaped the palace before a bomb could be put under her skin, forcing the guards to pursue her if they wished to retrieve her before words got around that it was possible to escape the Hutt's possession. She doubted Jabba wanted to appear weak this way, and who knew what his displeasure will bring upon his entourage. If she was lucky enough, she would never know.

However, one good thing did come out of all this: she now knew that, wherever she was on the timeline, it was during the lifetime and reign of Jabba the Hutt. Not that it shortened the range of possible time dramatically, but she could be reassured that the First Order wasn't spreading it's terror with a gigantic planet/turned weapon.

Now it was either an Empire, or an Empire in the making. Joy.

Most of the children they passed by glanced sympathetically her way, sorry for her situation yet relieved they weren't in her shoes. She couldn't really blame them; being stuck in a small, dark closet for hours could render anyone claustrophobic. Now if only she didn't cross Tarrik on her way there-

"Got in trouble again, mursto? Must be hard to be as useless as a pile of bentha poo, no?"

Nope. He was right there, the little shit.

During her year with her memories here, she had gained a certain… reputation. She had started humming, and sometimes singing in languages she learned in her first life that, for obvious reasons, no one else understood (remembering songs and their lyrics soothed her) tested the limits established by the keepers to an extent no one else dares (how else is she going to plan her epic escape?), and earned more time than anyone else ever had in the dark room. This made some kids look at her with admiration, confusion, and sometimes with a look that told her they thought she was crazy. She didn't mind, everything she did always had a reason behind it, not that anyone knew that. From their point of view, she was probably missing a few wires in her head.

She sent an unimpressed look Tarrik's way, not at all amazed by his toddler level insults. Again, she had to bite her tongue from entering one of her tirades that would definitely shut him up, using more clever words than _poop_ and _freak_.

"Tarrik! For that comment, you'll come and share her punishment! One hour in confinement, now!"

The other kid groaned (he doesn't have any ground to complain, she'll be stuck there for _five hours_), but Zayra suspected it was mostly for show. For one reason or another, Tarrik, a Chiss boy around 8 standard years old, had taken every of her actions as personal insults, as if her show of foreign language was to make him feel inferior, and her reckless actions a challenge for him to rise up to.

Truth is; she had never looked his way twice.

Funnily enough, that seemed to infuriate him more.

Both were held by their arms at an awkward angle from their tiny frames compared to the keeper's tall build, who was a surprisingly strong human female who she never cared to learn the name of. They were unceremoniously thrown in the dark room, or as the more dramatic kids liked to call, The Room of Shadows. Inaccurate, in her opinions, for the lack of light prevented the presence of any shadows. But, kids will be kids.

The door closed on them, trapping them in the darkness that gave the illusion of the room being bigger than it was, yet restricting at the same time. From her newly found sensibility in the force, she could physically feel Tarrik's reluctant chill when their vision was completely taken from them. To try and appear unaffected, he continued taunting her when the foot falls of the keeper were far enough.

"Seriously though, you couldn't run a simple errand? You're such a waste of space, I wonder why the keepers haven't sold you at the tiniest price possible already just to get rid of you."

"Do you enjoy insulting younger kids, or am I the only lucky one?" Zarya couldn't help but inquire sarcastically.

"Don't worry, only you. I mean, there is no need for anyone else, you're more than enough on your own."

An amused grin made its way on her lips.

"Why, I didn't take you for one to show your affection to a girl by pulling on her hair, it's a bit immature as a way of flirting."

She could swear she felt his smirk disappear, and a blush darkening his cheeks.

"Shut up, that's not what I meant and you know it, _mursto_."

"Ouch, freak again. I'm so insulted; you could see it on my face if there was light."

"I said shut up! I'm not going to spend the next hour listening to your stupid voice."

Zarya rolled her eyes, but relented, not wanting to lose time arguing with a child with an inferiority complex. She had more pressing matters to think about, and she really shouldn't cope with her fear of them by getting a distraction.

Unfortunately, she couldn't resist one last jab.

"Hello darkness my old friend…" Zarya started singing, translated in basic.

"For the love of stars, don't even start"

She snickered.

**(**

**(Translations**

_**Mursto**_** : Freak)**

**Thank you to xenocanaan, Mads-Chikistorm, thatfanboi and mothedman for your encouraging reviews, I'm happy to see your excitement for this story!**

**I have to admit, I am surprised to have this number of followers already (as small as 13 followers can seem) when stories that have been out there for much longer have as many, if not less. This really makes me want to write more, and that is thanks to you all!**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and let me know if you find it too long or short, for now it should be my chosen length for most future chapters.**

**(Also, I have no idea if I can trust online translators for Huttesse words, so do correct me if I have the words wrong, thanks!)**

**Until next time!**

**-Maginary**

***Disclaimer: I don't own anything Star Wars related, only my OCs***

**)**


	3. Loud Storms

Chapter 3: Loud Storms

Zarya felt… disorientated, to say the least. And it had nothing to do with the sand storm happening outside the safety of the orphanage.

Only the day before, her life was normal, as much as you can call the life of a most likely future slave in a universe that shouldn't exist, _normal_. But at least it was simple and, apart from planning her escape a little bit more each day, there wasn't much excitement around.

Worryingly enough, senseless murder and gun fights didn't count for excitement to her anymore when they happened almost daily.

But since she became aware of her force abilities, her boring days, while still the same, were now much more emotional. And by that, she literally meant _emotional_.

Every time she looked in a being's eyes, sentient or not, she could feel their emotions, as if they originated from her.

Zarya wasn't stupid, she knew it was a force related ability that, god only knew why, the force decided to give her. Or curse her with. Right now, the cursing seemed more accurate.

It wasn't quite empathy and telepathy like she thought at first, but something much more intimate than that. When she was near someone, she could feel their emotions disturbing the air around and when she locked gaze with them, it was as if she could gaze into their very _soul_, without any barrier between theirs and hers. She could hear their thoughts and feel what they felt, to the point where it was hard for her to distinguish who felt what. That led to many embarrassing moments.

The first day her ability awoke, right after her long punishment, she got very angry when one of the toddlers had a temper tantrum, which made her snap at a little boy when he bumped into her, who then broke down crying, making her cry with him and apologize profusely, then said boy ran away from her and bumped into a keeper, who got angry, which made her angry again, and this resulted in her going on a tirade on how this place was horrible with all the snivelling children around and the long days of work that stretched to night and how she wanted to whack everyone present in this place.

Obviously, those complaints and threats were the sentiments of the keeper, but since no one but her knew that, everyone who were in proximity now thought she wanted to kick everyone into submission, since the thoughts were verbalized by her.

Now some kids were wary of her.

And she had gained herself another five hours of punishment.

She really had to learn how to control that power, or these scenarios will become more frequent each time she looks at someone's eyes or stands to close to them.

"Do you always stare at those storms with that vacant stare to pass the time or do you actually have more constructive hobbies?"

She immediately stopped humming, the rude boy interrupting her botched up version of some song she forgot the name of. With one last look at the deadly storm raging outside, she turned her stare to Tarrik, avoiding looking directly into his eyes and making sure to keep it 'vacant', as he called it. His discomfort was shown by the way he couldn't hold her gaze for very long, and she childishly cheered inwardly at the small victory before she threw away the thought.

She was in a very low place if winning a staring contest with an eight years old brought her any amount of pride. She was 18 years old, for crying out loud!

Well, six physically but that was irrelevant.

Letting a mirthless smirk touch her lips, she stopped starring at the boy to prevent meeting his gaze again, redirecting her gaze to the ongoing sand storm.

"I stare at chaos, you seek the attention of the local weirdo. I do wonder who has the best hobby."

"It's not your attention I want. I want in on your plan for the future."

Now that gained her attention.

As annoying as this kid was, Zarya knew he was smarter then most children their age, probably something to do with his specie. She had never seen another Chiss like him around, and they couldn't be hard to miss with their dark blue skin and red eyes. This led her to believe he was here by mistake, perhaps sent here with his family for one reason or another only for them to die, or maybe he was kidnapped and left behind. Either way, he was completely out of place. At eight years old, the only reason he wasn't adopted or bought yet was because of his eyes, which unsettled most people.

"What plan?"

"Don't pretend you don't know, I figured it out already."

He stared at her unwaveringly, determined to get his point across without speaking it out loud. He was smarter than she gave him credit for, saying it could have been overheard by the wrong person.

She didn't need to hear his thoughts to know he was talking about leaving the orphanage before someone chose him. He knew that no one would adopt him, since most people prefer to take babies or toddlers. His only option left was slavery, and she could feel his fear for this fate making the air around him heavy and troubled.

"How do you know about that plan? And why not make one for yourself?", she inquired.

"Yesterday was different then the other times you got yourself in trouble. You normally always have this contemplative face, like you were analyzing something you learned before you got caught, and the consequences were worth it. But yesterday, you seemed more confused than anything."

"Which made you follow me, hoping to figure out what it was about.", she cut him off. "You were insulting me to get a rise out of me, so I would defend my actions and tell you what I was up to. That's why you're always following me like you do, isn't it? To discover what I was doing, and why"

His surprised yet knowing look told her all she needed to know. He was never jealous or insulted by her quirks, he was confused, even frustrated by them, leading him to investigate. Zarya couldn't believe she'd been so blind, mistaking his actions for childish pettiness. Now, he had discovered, on his own, that she was planning an escape.

She wasn't proud to say that she had planned to leave everyone else behind, considering that none of the kids were strong enough to fight their way out if necessary, and being sneaky with a few dozen children, toddlers and babies wasn't exactly easy. She had played with the idea of coming back for them, but by the time she would have the skills and resources necessary for that, she might as well plan to deliver everyone on Tatooine since the children currently here would be gone from the orphanage. But that wasn't for at least a decade, and right now, she just wanted to focus on herself, and figure out what she wanted to do in this life, and this universe in general. Star Wars or not, she wasn't suddenly a hero, going around fixing the story and basically immortal. She could die again, and she had already decided to not throw this second chance away.

All this considered, maybe having someone else with her could make things easier. But she wasn't going to give him a free ride; he needed to get his hands dirty too.

"So? Can you include me or not?"

Zarya sighed. She understood his restlessness, but making a decision like that isn't simple. She already had a pretty good idea on how she was going to leave, and she doubted Tarrik would like her ideas, especially since some of them could end up being painful, like getting rid of their tracker. She could deal with pain, but could he?

"How far are you ready to go to accomplish this?", she asked.

Not being able to speak freely was quickly getting annoying, she really wished she could just ask directly.

"As far as necessary", he answered with certainty.

After another minute of staring, that only succeeded in giving Zarya a stomach-ache because of his tangible apprehension, she gave a nod of acceptance.

"Tomorrow, same place and same hour. Don't be late."

He gave a nod in return before going back to one of the boys' room for the night. Right after he turned a corner and disappeared from her view, she felt a small change in the heavy air around him. As if a big weight was lifted off of him.

Zarya turned back to the sand storm, already questioning her decision. She couldn't help feeling like she was responsible for him now, even if he didn't ask for it. If something happened to him while he accompanied her, the blame would be on her, and she didn't know how she felt about that.

But she would think about this later. Right now, she had modifications to her plan to think through.

(( ))

"Ouch! Be more careful, will you? That's my hand you stepped on!"

"Well what is your hand doing here in the first place? Stop following me so close and you would be out of my reach!"

"To be fair, it is very cramped here and we can't see much."

"Forget cramped, the dust is worse! Has anyone ever cleaned this place?"

"We're in an air vent, mate, no adult is small enough to go here to clean it up."

"What about the cleaning robots?"

"Yeah, like a droid could climb and slide in those vents without being severely damaged"

"_I_ feel severely damaged, and I'm not a droid."

"Boys, focus please."

Zarya sighed when the human, the rodian and Tarrik ignored her, continuing to bicker amongst themselves in hushed voices.

When she had come to meet Tarrik this evening, she was surprised to see his two friends with him, when she should have seen this coming. Just because _she_ didn't make friends (Snot nosed brats, the whole lot of them. Maybe she was only disgusted to be considered one of them, since she normally liked kids.) didn't mean he didn't. Although some kind of warning from said boy would have been appreciated. She had not prepared tonight's excursion with three loud children tagging along in mind. With all their volatile emotions around, they were really starting to give her a headache. And her patience was rapidly fading away.

She, along with Tarrik and the two others, were currently crawling in a very small air vent, trying to reach the computer room. She doubted that was its name, but it's were the keepers placed all the screens that kept a tab on the location of every child who possessed a tracker. The only reason they didn't know the four of them were not where they are supposed to be is because no one was near the screens at the moment. They rarely were, preferring to trust their system, which sends an alarm every time one of the merchandize was not where they are supposed to be.

Since they were still in the orphanage, the system didn't see anything amiss. Ah, how she loved loopholes. Always handy to find. Even if it cost her good amount of time in the punishment room/dark closet.

Finally, she spotted the wire rack that lead to their destination which, at this point, looked like a sign of freedom to her. Since she led the unusual group, she reached the exit first, gently pushing it out, turning it on its side and laying it on the other side of the now open hole. Thankfully, the kids behind her were now silent, probably eager to get out of there as much as her. Tiny they may be, this place truly was too narrow.

Or maybe they were silent because this all felt like some kind of spy mission, like they heard in stories. Even Zarya couldn't help but feel giddy and excited, like all her self assigned missions did.

Slowly, she maneuvered her body to put her feet forward, so she could jump out safely. When she met the ground, the teen-turned-child didn't wait for her companions to catch up before she headed towards the first screen she saw, hoping to find some kind of map, the layout of the whole building or something. The keyboard, while unfamiliar, was in a certain way similar to what she was used to, so it didn't take her long to figure out the basics of its functions.

While she searched for any important information, the last kid fell down, landing clumsily on the floor with a worryingly loud thump, making Tarrik laugh. Zarya turned to them, a disbelieving look on her face.

"What are you idiots doing?! Do you want us to be found?", she whispered loudly.

"What, you wanted me to stay up there instead of coming down to help, is that it?", the human boy, Hostias, asked with sarcasm while he got up, dusting his pants.

"Yes, that's exactly what I wanted you to do! How else are we going to climb back up?"

Hostias looked up at the hole in the ceiling, a good four meters high, the back down at the barely-more-than-a-meter-tall children that they were.

"Oops?"

"Oops is right, but it doesn't solve our problem. Tarrik, you and him try to find a way to climb up there while-"

"Guys? I think I found something you might want to see."

While she got distracted, the Rodian boy, Novi, had the time to head to another screen and quickly searching its files with ease, giving away his familiarity with the device. His statement, said in a hesitant voice made Zarya shut up, jogging to his position to observe his discovery, the other two hot on her heels.

When they saw what he found, a feeling of dread settled in their stomachs, threatening to make Zarya sick.

"That might complicate things a bit.", Hostias whispered, wide eyes locked on the computer look alike.

"You think?", she bit back, her unbelieving gaze still on the screen.

Their attention only strayed when they heard the unmistakable sound of the door unlocking.

**(**

**Thanks again to Mads-Chikistorm and thatfanboi, as well as fantasy.92 for the reviews! I won't say that every single time, but right now reviews really are a big part of my motivation for this story as well as followers, and thanks are given when they are earned!**

**I know it took me a bit more time to update than before, and while I am sorry, not every free time I have is dedicated to writing, so thank you infinitely for your patience! (I read fanfics too, I know how frustrating it can be to wait.)**

**On that note, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and do tell me what you think they found, I am curious!**

**Until next time!**

**-Maginary**

***Disclaimer: I don't own anything Star Wars related, only my OCs***

**)**


	4. Controlled Law

Chapter 4 : Controlled Law

Their heads all snapped towards the door, in a way that would have made Zarya laugh if it wasn't for the panic pumping adrenaline in her blood. Quicker then the kids accompanying her could act, she pushed them all to the floor, whispering a harsh 'Hide!'. They all crawled on the dusty floor as fast as they could without making any sound. The girl hid under a desk, not as close to the door as she would have liked but with no time to change her spot.

Heavy footsteps could be heard heading inside the room, quiet voices speaking hurriedly. Zarya didn't dare come closer to hear their conversation, though her curiosity was really piqued. The three keepers present seemed slightly frantic, as if something was bothering them.

Craning her neck slowly, she looked around from her restricted point of view, spotting Hostias hiding behind a large, worn down crate next to the door. He could easily turn around it, should it be necessary to keep out of view, which was a lot better than her chosen place. She couldn't see the other two, and she could only hope they wouldn't be found by the adults.

Catching Hostias' gaze, she pointed to the keepers and then tapped her ear, signalling him to listen to what they were saying since he was close enough to hear them. He made her an annoyed face, but slowly nodded before shifting a bit closer to the keepers, eavesdropping. Zarya tried to keep an eye on him to reassure herself of his safety, but she had no choice but to duck under her desk when the keepers turned her way unexpectedly. She held her breath when they walked past her hiding spot, exhaling only when their feet were out of her view.

Not wanting to risk being seen peeping, she didn't try to get a look around for anyone, waiting instead for their intruders to leave. Minutes seemed to stretch longer than they truly were, and when they finally left, more in a hurry than when they entered, she couldn't have come out from under the desk faster after hearing the door lock again. The three boys accompanying her hurriedly followed, Tarrik being the first to climb up the open vent when Hostias kneeled down and offered his cupped hand for him to step on. She and Novi followed right after, their smaller stature compared to the two others meaning that they needed Tarrik to pull them up despite the boost from Hostias. Exchanging fearful glances, they crawled back the way they came when everyone was up. This time, no one complained about the dust and the stray kicks they were accidentally receiving.

(( ))

"So, what do we do now?", asked Novi, a tremor in his voice. "We can't exactly go on with whatever plan Zarya had now, can we?"

After escaping the computer room, they practically ran, as silently as they could, towards the boys shared room. With only four colourless beds and a drawer containing sand coloured clothes, the room was simple and without any personality. It was the only place where they would be left alone until sunrise, when the keepers come to wake everyone up for the day. One of the beds was empty since their previous roommate was chosen by someone. If he was adopted or bought to be a slave, she had no idea. Nor did she want to think about it.

"Of course not, are you kidding? We don't know what would happen to us should they decide to…to…"

"Take away our choice.", finished Tarrik when Hostias was unable to continue.

While the boys continued debating their next course of action, Zarya stayed silent, sitting on one of the beds, eyes closed, trying to settle her upset stomach. With all the stress, fear and anxiousness churning around, she felt like she was going to throw up. Her own emotions of disbelief and disgust didn't help her current state.

Control chips. They put control chips in their brain. In _children's_ brains.

Theories of how, when and why ran a mile a minute in her head, panic clouding her thoughts and making her dizzy. Never, in a million years, would she have thought the Keepers and slave owners would go to this extant to control their slaves. To her, it was unconceivable, _inhuman_-

'But there aren't only humans running around now, is there.', she thought with dry amusement.

And this wasn't the only time this kind of device was used in this universe either. Or _isn't_ going to be the only time. Whatever. Point is, they used or were going to use this technology on the clone army, too. But the question was, why them? Who was doing this? Was it some type of test run, or were they sold to the keepers to use whenever they wanted?

If her memory was right, it was the siths who took the steps necessary to make the Kaminoans implant those _things _in the clone's embryos, but where they the ones who created them? If they did, did they choose this specific place to test it for future uses? Or was it now a known product in some shady black market? If it was the Siths' doing, were they watching her and this very planet at this moment? What about if one of the Skywalkers was there, they could discover the-

"Zarya? Are you alright? You look very pale."

"Is that normal for humans to become this pale in an instant?"

"No, it's not, idiot."

"Hey! Don't call me an idiot, you're the stupid one!"

"The stupid one? Why you-"

"Guys! Shut up for a minute, will you? Zarya, will you be okay? Because we really need to decide what we're going to do now."

Tarrik's voice cut through her thoughts, bringing her back to the present. It was softer than usual, as if he thought she was in the brink of a panic attack. It wasn't far from the truth, but it still annoyed her to have to be comforted by a _child_, of all people.

"Whatever she had planned probably wouldn't have worked anyway. I mean come on, she's what, five years old?", Hostias asked drily.

"Six and a half, thanks." As soon as the words left her mouth, Zarya felt like smacking herself. That was such a childish thing to answer, it was painful. Of course, in their minds, she was even younger than them. Why would they follow her anywhere? Much less trust her to free them from here. Hope and curiosity were probably the only things pushing them to participate in her little escapade.

But now, they had stumbled into something far bigger than they thought they would have to face. Even though she doesn't know them very well, she can still recognize their attempt to deny their situation by ignoring it, and throw their anger on others as a way to deal with it.

Putting her despairing thoughts and emotions aside for the time being, she faced the three distraught boys. Tarrik and Hostias had started to bicker again while Novi was trying to stop them unsuccessfully. She should have never brought them along. They were far too young, and it was unfair of her to have given them any hope at all, considering that she had no idea how to proceed from here. Words of apology were on the tip of her tongue, trying to find a way to let them down kindly.

Before they discovered the chips, the task was almost impossible, but now? There was not a single way for them to have a single chance at freedom. All the stars would have to align, giving them a way to get rid of the implant in their head, a way to escape the orphanage as well as the planet, without anyone questioning their young age. That's without mentioning that she had no idea what to do or where to go once they are free, and they don't know when they will decide to start using those _freaking_ chips-

"They don't use it."

At her whisper, the boys stopped talking, turning towards her, confusion written on their face.

"They don't use the chips. I think we would notice if a kid started acting like a mindless robot, doing what's asked of them without any fuss. I'm willing to bet they won't be using them on any of us, either."

"Why? Why put it in our head for no reason at all?", asked Hostias.

"They could have some other uses then controlling us, like maybe, tracking us? Also, it kind of explains why we don't have a bomb in us like all the other slaves."

Zaria nodded thoughtfully at Novi. It was a good guess, it would be less complicated then planting another device in them, and there would be no use for a bomb when cooperation was completely guaranteed.

"But we're not all to become slaves, though.", Argued Tarrik. "Some of us did get adopted, right? I doubt parents would like it if their new child had that thing in their brain."

"This means that there must be something to trigger the chip, like a word, or even some kind of control device. If we discover what it is, we might just be able to avoid being brainwashed.", Zaria added.

"Or, do you think it's possible that when we are not chosen to be slaves, they take it off completely? It would be safer for the slavers to avoid their means to be discovered by the right person."

"Novi, you might just be right. That's genius!"

His green skin darkened under Zaria's praise, blushing with pride and shyness. Zaria was amazed by the ingenuity of those children. While it was mostly speculating for now, she was already mentally making plans to discover if any of it could be true.

Their dark emotions, which were previously making her sick, were already lighter, a tiny feeling slowly flooding the air around them. Hope. There might still be a way to leave this place, and Zarya won't stop until she finds it.

Looking at the three children plotting excitedly with each other, she let a tiny smile grow on her lips. She was still anxious, a lot could still go wrong, but they have hope now. And for the first time, she begins to truly understand how this feeling alone is able to build entire rebellions

(( ))

The next morning, Zarya was searching the place for Hostias. Last night, she had told the boys to go to sleep, and that they would meet up again the next evening to plan their next move. There was a lot of information to swallow yesterday, and she didn't want to overwhelm their already tired minds by discussing more than they already had. She also wanted to avoid souring the fragile mood by speculating more on the chips' uses. There was no need to make them panic more than they already did.

She had the children's short attention span to thank for, because an adult would have definitely been overthinking this all night, and probably ask more questions.

Speaking of short attention span, it seems she wasn't exempted from it, because she had completely forgotten about the keepers' hushed discussion in the computer room, which Hostias should have heard the beginning of.

In her defense, she wasn't in the best state of mind that night, and a lot was going on.

This brings her to search the wayward human boy for the entire morning, and her frustration was rapidly escalating. There were quite a lot of human kids around, and even more emotions distorting the air all over the place, making her dizzy, but she should still have been able to find him ages ago.

After another hour, a headache had firmly planted its roots in her skull, and Zarya was seriously questioning that boy's continuing existence when she finally finds him. For his sake, the information he got better be worth it or she might just do something drastic because of her annoyance.

She ends up finding him outside the orphanage, in the same market where she was pursued by Jabba's guards only two days ago. She stomped towards him, looking discreetly around for the giant green pigs in armour. Only when she was certain there weren't any did she relax enough to try and hide her displeasure from the people around. Yelling at Hostias and making a scene of herself wasn't the smartest decision right now.

"Hostias! Wait for a minute, will you?"

The dark haired boy stopped walking and turned towards her, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"What do you want?"

She almost scowled at his rudeness, but made sure her expression stayed smooth. Right now, she only wanted to get this over with and go back to the orphanage, find someplace alone and away from all the emotions running all over the place.

"I wanted to ask you about what you overheard yesterday, we didn't talk about it yet. Did you find out anything interesting?"

"Ha, that. No, nothing of importance, at least I don't think so. Something about a client, it could be a slave owner or something like that."

With a noncommittal shrug, he started to walk again and Zarya followed, keeping his pace.

"A client, huh? They seemed pretty troubled for it to be about a simple client. Did you catch a name or anything?"

"I think I might have heard a name, something like Darsidis, or Darksius. They were walking away, so I didn't hear very well."

Zarya stopped walking abruptly, surprising Hostias enough for him to stop too. He looked at her in confusion, a worried glint in his brown eyes when he saw the fear in her turquoise ones.

"Darth Sidious? W-was it Darth Sidious?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right. Do you know him? How _do_ you know him?"

Zaria ignored his questions, frozen on the spot. Of course, _of course_ things were about to get even more complicated. What else did she expect? A peaceful second life, free of charge or care?

"Is that what they called Murphy's Law?", she wondered aloud.

"What? Murphy- What?"

The look he gave her definitely told her she was crazy.

**(**

**Another chapter, finally! Things are beginning to spice up, and it's only the beginning! **

**What do you think? How much is Darth Sidious involved in this mess? What will happen with the chips? Are they going to be able to escape their situation? Leave a review for your thoughts and theories!**

**Again, thank you to Mads-Chikistorm, Fantasy.92 and thatfanboi for the reviews! Also a big thank you to all the followers, it truly keeps me writing!**

**Also, I want to emphasize on something I said first chapter: **_**your theories and hopes in the reviews could potentially influence this story!**_** Not all of it is set in stone, and if you want to participate in its creation, it is possible! **

**Or just correct facts I get wrong, fixing it is a good contribution too : ) **

**Until next time!**

**-Maginary**

***Disclaimer: I don't own anything Star Wars related, only my OCs***

**)**


	5. Plans of Fire

Chapter 5 : Plans of Fire

It's been a few months since their first meeting together, and a plan of escape was slowly but surely building itself more each day. Zarya, Tarrik, Hostias and Novi could often be found together, most of the time getting themselves in trouble.  
If they had been any older, the way they got together, sitting in a circle and whispering to each other would have been highly suspicious. Fortunately, no one thought they were up to anything more than some mischief.

It was now a common occurrence for the children in the refuge to see the four of them disappearing for hours at a time, hide themselves from everyone in an empty room to do who knows what, and even to get dragged by the keepers to the Dark Room. Needless to say, the boys now had a very similar reputation to Zarya.

The keepers, for their part, were very annoyed by their shenanigans. They had even added another round of surveillance, specifically to catch them in places they aren't exactly supposed to be at. Now that Zarya thought about it, they were very lucky that the adults were so confident in their security systems and contingency means, because they would've been in a lot more trouble than they are.

"So. Where were we?"

"Seriously, Hostias, weren't you paying any attention at all?"

"Shut up, Tarrik, I only meant that it would be good to go over what information we have, to make sure we don't miss anything."

"He's right, you know. Zarya, do you want to start?"

She looked up from her sheet, the small lamp torch behind her ear illuminating softly her companion's faces.

That night, they had crept out of their respective rooms to complete their latest task necessary to plan their escape. Novi, Tarrik and her went to three of the building's alarm panel, which contained a dozen buttons you could press under a glass panel that only needed to be lifted. Each button had a specific use, and only the keepers knew what each of them did. If she had to guess, they were all alarms for different situations.

Meanwhile, Hostias was in the cafeteria, if you could call it that, situated near the middle of the orphanage, where he needed to do something that would trigger an alarm.

After he was done, Zarya wished she hadn't trusted him when he told them to leave this part to him. The little maniac started a fire. _Inside a building_. Controlled, he insisted, but _still_. When Tarrik asked how he did that in a child proofed orphanage, she heard something about dry rations and batteries.

She didn't want to know more after that.

As soon as the security system detected the fire, a loud alarm sounded, waking up everyone and the nearest neighbours. This, as she had predicted, lit up the alarm panels she and the others stood near from. More specifically, it lit up the button that was most likely meant to be pressed should there be a fire that the system hadn't sensed yet.

Obviously, when they tried to get lost in the crowd of children leaving the building, _one of them_ just _had _to be caught near the fire (she wasn't pointing fingers at _anybody_). And by now, when one of them got caught doing something unsavoury, it was immediately assumed that they were all involved in said unsavoury activity.

It wasn't exactly false, but the boys and her still protested loudly every time.

This brings them to now, sitting in the dark, a fem lamp torches and data pads they successfully stole a few weeks ago as their only sources of light. Luckily, the keepers didn't think children could steal their stuff and hide it from them for very long. The fact Novi was able to modify the two data pads they acquired so they couldn't be retraced helped a lot, too.

One day, she would have to ask the seven years old Rodian how he knows so much about technology.

"Right, to sum up.", Zarya sighed, sitting up straighter and picking up one of the data pads. When she felt a spike of fear from the absence of light source in his direction, Zarya took her lamp torch and handed it to Hostias, who seemed to want to refuse it before accepting it when she made a gesture to throw it at his face. He did scowl, but his fear muted slightly, which she took as his silent thank you. It was completely natural to be wary of the dark, especially at their age. Only Novi had no problem in the dark, having once mentioned something about seeing heat signatures with his eyes anyway. As for Tarrik… well. For a kid, he was pretty unshakable.

"So.", She started, looking through their notes. "Right now, we know each of us possess chips implanted in our heads, which means that the keepers, or our future owners, can decide to make us do practically anything at any time. However, from the files we stole the other month; it has chances of being detrimental to brains in development, so it's safe to assume that they won't be used until we are older if they don't want to harm us permanently."

"Can't have us lose any value, right?", interrupted Hostias sarcastically.

"Shh!", Tarrik interfered.

Honestly, she had no idea how those two ever became friends. They were always clashing with each other, but she was pretty sure Novi was the one keeping them from arguing for too long.

She and her stubbornness weren't really helping those clashes either when they dragged her into the fray.

"Anyway, that's a problem that, I think, can be solved when we are out of here, especially when we consider that they have to be triggered by some kind of program in their computers _and_ a verbal order by someone specific. So, as long as we don't have any contact with anyone here while the program is activated, we should be fine." At least, she hoped. Even after a few months, she still wasn't okay with the idea of a chip in her brain. There were many instances where she caught herself touching the back of her head subconsciously.

"Next, escaping the orphanage. Activating the fire alarm might be enough for a distraction, as long as _no one gets caught_ that time around", She glared at Hostias, who cringed a bit with a nervous laugh. "An advantage we have is the slight freedom they allow us, which means we can go as far as the other end of the local market without activating any alarms. That's… not quite enough to outrun the keepers, even if they have a urgency to take care of."

"And as we discovered the other night, they have no problem finding us during the day or the night, so no luck there." Tarrik added.

"But we did discover that, with the trackers, they don't know the exact spot we are at exactly when we hide from them, only the general position.", Novi said.

Yeah, that specific test did land them in more trouble than usual. Turns out, even she could be quite unsettled when left too long in the dark, without any food.

"Maybe if we had a transport? That would buy us a lot of time, since we would go farther.", Hostias added.

"Yeah, like a random stranger would accept to give a ride to five random kids with no guardian or money.", interjected Tarrik.

"We could steal a transport. Oh, we could get a space ship!"

"And which one of us knows how to fly one of those, you?"

"Boys, please."

Zarya sighed again, dragging a hand through her reddish hair. "First, escaping the city _without_ being brainwashed, then escaping the planet. One thing at a time."

"What if we just… went aboard a merchant's ship? There's a lot of those each week coming and going, and many crates and barrels to hide in.", offered Hostias.

The other three looked at him, surprise painted on their faces along with the air around them (only known to Zarya). Hostias scowled.

"Hey, I do come up with good ideas sometimes, you know! Or if you find it stupid, just say it!"

"No, no, that's not it! I'm just… surprised I didn't think of that sooner. It's a great plan, actually.", said Zarya. "The only thing is, this requires a ship that leaves as soon as we're in it. Any more time, and we risk the keepers finding us pretty fast."

"No, no, I was actually surprised you could come up with that plan."

The Chiss boy only succeeded in getting punched on the arm by Hostias.

Novi sat up from his laid back position, taking one of the data pads and searching something. "Another thing to consider would be which merchant ship to take, and where it would lead us. Any destination in mind?"

No one answered. Since they were all children, none of them had any idea where they should go, how they will proceed in this universe without any guidance. Even Zarya who, despite looking like a child, was actually older had no idea what they should do once they would be free. The best scenario she could think of was to find a true orphanage, where they would get adopted by legal means in good families. Considering they were in the outer rims, she doubted any travelling merchant would transport them in this kind of place.

"I say we take the one we think is the best choice, and we figure out our next move from there. Wherever we end up going, it can hardly be worse than this ball of dust."

At Tarrik's words, Zarya felt determination calming the anxiousness plaguing their aura. Contrary to most times since her sensitivity to other's emotions, this didn't make her feel calmer too. Instead, when she watched the boys, sadness surrounded her thoughts. Since when did children need to do…_all_ of this? Since when did they need to gain their freedom, alone, and risk their life for it? Heck, she was biologically _six years old_, and just because she was actively trying to find a way to get out of here, older kids are ready to put their trust in her to bring them along.

Granted, by now they were most likely convinced she was a genius, but still!

As the discussion derived in less important details, she let her own thoughts drift to another problem only she knew of, unaware of the blue boy observing her curiously with a hint of frustration.

Darth Sidious. In all the months since she learned of his involvement with this establishment, she didn't learn anything new. After hours spying on the keepers, she did not hear his name or anything that could be linked to him, but despite that, a constant fear lingered in the back of her mind. This part, the part where she doesn't _know_ is the one she is the most terrified of, more than a war or a death star. At least then, she would know what was coming. Who knew what his plans were at this time?

Or was he even the one in charge right now? If the chips were some kind of test run before the clones are created, that would mean she was somewhere near the clone wars. That meant he could still be an apprentice. She knew even less about the other Sith, his master. Darth Plagueis, was it?

Or maybe the chips were now a product on some shady market to sell for whoever wanted them, so she could be in the Empire era too, though the more she thought about it, the less likely it seemed.

"Zarya, do you want to help choose a planet to get to?"

Looking up from the cement floor, she quickly took her hand away from the back of her skull and gazed into Hostias' questioning eyes. She could feel the hope, fear and excitement he held, as well as some of his thoughts. Wishes of planets filled with endless water he'd only heard of, brimming with life and colors crossed his mind, and Zarya averted her gaze, a lump in her throat.

It was no use thinking about the Siths right now. Her only goal was to get out of here and, hopefully, build herself a life away from all this wreck.

"No, you guys go ahead and choose. I'll be fine with whatever."

With a shrug, he turned back to the others, chatting about the different merchant ships scheduled to leave in the next weeks, unaware of her inner turmoil.

She _really_ had to ask Nova how he hacked his way to this kind of data, when he would be ready to open up to them. She couldn't really blame him, they all seemed to have secrets, and since they didn't ask about hers, she wouldn't ask about theirs either.

Although, with the way Tarrik was staring at her, she was beginning to think that conversation would be sooner than she believed.

**(**

**Hello!**

**Not much in this chapter, mostly a time jump and explaining the basics of their escape plan.**

**Still, I do hope I didn't bore you and if I did, fret not! The next chapters are bound to be filled with more excitement!**

**By the way, who do you think Zarya will meet first? Sidious was mentioned first, but no Star Wars character has yet to show their face… **

**For the comments, I want to thank mothedman (you made me laugh, by the way), OldWorldVulture (And that was one long**_**, constructive**_** comment, thank you!), thatfanboi, The Jingo and Mads-Chikistorm (I love your theories!)**

**Until next time!**

**-Maginary**

**)**

***Disclaimer: I don't own anything Star Wars related, only my OC's***


	6. Closing Winds

Chapter 6: Closing Winds

Zarya ducked, hiding behind some kind of trolley pulled by a surprisingly small robot that didn't seem to know what to do in the surrounding panic. When a few stray shots were fired too near to her position to be comfortable, she groaned while leaving her temporary shield, running towards the nearest merchant stand for cover. Pushing her hair away from her face and putting a hand in her pocket to assure herself she hasn't lost her comlink, she tried to look around for her companions, but apart from a blue head that might be Tarrik's (He was pretty recognizable even from afar) a few meters away; she wasn't able to get a better look for the two others. Just when she had successfully hid under the stand's table, an explosion sounded off in the next alleyway and the girl was left to wonder how the _hell_ they got themselves in this situation.

The escape plan was supposed to be simple, and they had planned for it for months now. Many possible scenarios were thought of, contingency plans and distractions and _no Hostias, you don't actually have to start a fire, we just need the fire alarm—_

Deep breaths. No need to be angry. Just ignore the child's pyromaniac tendencies- wait, no, don't ignore that. No supervision would be an invitation for him to practice is fire making skills.

Said child must be having a blast with all the explosions, fires and lasers all around them.

The point _is—_ Zarya cursed as her table was broken in two by a tumbling mess of limbs, probably some guys fighting over who knows what, and she ran to the next stand, where she was surprised to see the one she had just been thinking about already hiding there. As soon as she was safely crunched next to him, she kicked his shin as hard as her tiny leg could, ignoring his grunt of pain.

"Hostias, what in the stars were you and the boys thinking about, running away like that?! Do you know how dangerous that was, we aren't prepared for this kind of situation!", she yelled at him over the surrounding cacophony of fighting sounds and rising wind. "The keepers could catch us at any time now!"

"No they won't, I started a distraction, see?"

"You started a riot! It's not exactly a safe distraction!"

"Well, it's working, no?"

She groaned, a hand over her eyes.

The plan sank as soon as the monthly outing the keepers had in group at the market to show off their own merchandise (the orphans) was unexpectedly cancelled due to the oncoming sandstorm. This was a huge set back, since today was the day they had decided to act on, since the perfect transport was scheduled to come at the right place, right time, to a decent planet, everything lined up for a near flawless evasion.

But since when did preparations matter when children under ten years old were involved?

The keepers had been closing the gates when the three boys seemed to wordlessly agree to try their luck anyway and run for their lives, leaving the orphanage behind before the gates could close completely. In a lapse of better judgement, she ran after them.

And it _worked_, for a while anyway.

The keepers didn't react fast enough, probably not expecting for them to do something so obvious and reckless. Admittedly, activating the fire alarm right before leaving for the market could have given them a great opportunity to sneak away and have some time before their jailors figured out they had left amidst the confusion.

With this new escape, they made it to the market just in time to hide before about half a dozen keepers turned the corner near their position, two of them holding data pads which most likely gave away their general position. In a stroke of genius, or madness, who knew, Hostias decided to create his own distraction.

Said distraction being the ongoing_ street riot._

Seriously, he just needed to grab some vendor's item, in this case a very expansive looking jewel, and throw it at the vendor the other side of the street. Right on his face, to be more precise. He then ran to another stand, where he subtly pushed one of the merchant into another's stand, making all the dehydrated food he was selling tumble to the ground, and ran for cover before he was noticed. Next thing you know, many were throwing insults at each other in some garbled alien language she didn't understand, then throwing punches, then others joined in, guns were suddenly involved, then explosives and Zarya was left behind a frail stand showcasing small dead animals which were probably to eat, and she wondered what she ever did to be reborn on this crazy planet.

"HEY! OVER HERE, I SEE IT!"

Standing up and having to push her hair away again because of the wind, she looked where Hostias was gesturing wildly, seeing the ship they were supposed to catch whose engine was starting. She turned her head quickly, spotting the small figures of Tarrik and Novi sprinting towards the transport after hearing Hostias' call. When Hostias saw them both heading towards it, he pushed her out of their cover so she would also start running.

"Go, go now! I'll follow after you!"

Zarya had no time to check on him, having to focus all her attention on avoiding any obstacles coming her way. After jumping over a (hopefully) passed out body and ducking under more flying lasers, she finally reached the ship just as the ramp was starting to fold back up. Novi and Tarrik, already aboard, each grabbed one of her arms to pull her up faster. The three of them turned back to reach for Hostias, only to realise he wasn't behind Zarya as they had thought.

"Where is he? He was following you just a minute ago!", exclaimed Novi.

The doors of the ship started to close. With no time to waste, the Rodian headed to the doors' control panel, hurriedly connecting his data pad and hacking it in the hopes of keeping them open a while longer and delaying the ship's departure.

"I won't be able to hold them for very long without gaining the pilot's attention, find him!"

At his statement, the two others turned to look around, when they finally spotted the brown haired boy a few meters away, standing frozen despite the fights around him. Only his hair and tunic followed the strong breeze dancing around him. The girl made to exit the ship in hopes of reaching him to snap him out of whatever was keeping him from moving. Maybe he was too afraid to move, maybe he was injured—

A hand on her shoulder stopped her. She looked at Tarrik, ready to protest when she noticed how pale he looked, how wide his eyes were. His hold on her was strong, almost painful but he wasn't paying attention to her, his gaze locked on the frozen figure of his friend.

"They have him", he whispered fearfully.

Zarya snapped her head back, trying to see what had him as spooked as Hostias. Only to notice that Hostias didn't seem afraid at all. His face was actually blank, devoid of any emotion, which was very unusual for the normally animated boy. She started yelling his name before Tarrik could stop her with his hand on her mouth, yet it wasn't the human boy's attention she gained, but the blond woman with a grey hood behind him.

She recognized that woman, who was taller than most human females like her. She was familiar with her strong grip, unyielding despite the struggling of her captives and also familiar with her angry tirades when one of them stepped out of line. She knew what her being behind Hostias with a data pad in hand meant. Yet Zarya couldn't believe it. Surely, they wouldn't be as cruel, as _stupid_ as using _that thing on a child…_

The woman said something, and Hostias started to walk toward them. It wasn't his normal, clumsy walk with limbs a bit too long for his growing frame, but a mechanic one, where every movement seemed to be perfectly coordinated. The girl watched, eyes disbelieving as her friend approached them without any trace of emotion in his eyes, uncaring of the now rising sand whipping him. Even the previously fighting merchants and shoppers were hurriedly packing their things, having stopped their brawl once they realized the storm was upon them. She distantly heard Tarrik yelling at Novi to close the doors while lightly tugging on her arm too keep her out of the way.

Something snapped in her. Her once tightly held emotions couldn't be contained anymore, the air was too agitated with the other's panic, and her own fear was pumping adrenaline in her veins. As the doors closed, she realized that if she did nothing, Hostias would be left behind on this horrible planet, with those heartless people and this _monstrosity_ _of a keeper_ who would decide his fate for him.

With a surge of strength she didn't know she possessed, she held her hands before her, grabbing the moving doors of the ship without thinking and _pushing back_. With a hissing sound, the doors stopped, and she struggled to keep them as such. She heard yelling, and realized that it was her, shouting for Hostias, and the other two yelling at her to stop, trying to pull her away.

She wasn't able to hold on long, the two boys combined stronger than her alone. They fell together in a pile, Novi gasping for breath under their weight. Zarya quickly got up, pushing Tarrik's restraining arms away from her and still shouting for their missing friend only for the ship to lurch, sending her back to the floor on her knees. She felt a sensation similar to an elevator going up, signalling that the merchant's ship was moving. She lifted her head up, swallowing back the nausea unexpectedly assaulting her.

The doors were closed.

( ( ) )

The owner of the ship, a lizard like alien, had come to the back of his ship once it was moving, looking around for whatever could have blocked the doors back at the market. The kids being hidden behind the many containers, metal crates and barrels were left unnoticed. He left after a few minutes, grumbling under his breath in basic about some stray crate probably obstructing the door before falling out, losing him good money.

The three friends sat next to each other for hours in silence, listening to the howling wind outside their metal shelter. It was getting quieter now, finally calming down. Their chosen transport stopped two or three times at neighbouring cities and villages, dropping merchandise at the lizard's clients and receiving other materials or money in exchange. None of them reacted to the brief activities apart from ducking out of view each time the doors opened.

When the ship stopped again, the children settled for another wait before taking off again, which could be from five to thirty minutes.

"Do you think there's any food here?", Novi inquired quietly, as if afraid to break the mourning silence. He only received a shrug from Tarrik in response.

It would be surprising, since this was the ship of a clothing vendor. All the boxes were filled with clothes, clothing materials and drapes. Useful for them to change from their recognizable, grey tunics to casual, sand coloured ones. Fruitless when it comes to food. With the way they were brought up, they were used to going a few days without food anyway, and they made sure to eat as much as they could in secret before leaving, since stealing provisions would have been harder to hide.

"This should be the last stop, according to the ship's travel plan, before taking off the planet and flying towards Rodia. It will be a little while before we arrive. By now, we should be far enough that they can't track us anymore with the chips."

The silence took its place again. The boys had questions, she was certain, about what she had done with the doors, but they didn't seem to have the energy to bring it up. She was grateful for that, since she didn't either. What was supposed to be a victory, filled with relief, joy and nervousness was instead a bitter wake-up call that, no matter where they go, they will never be completely free. If Hostias wasn't enough of a link to Tatooine, the ones with the power to control them via the chips were also to consider.

Zarya looked at her companions, already exhausted and weary. Tarrik's head rested on the wall he was leaning on, his eyes closed. His uneven breathing gave away his consciousness. Novi was tinkering with his data pad and the three comlinks he built by himself in the previous months, giving them each one with the instruction to never lose it, since it's their only mean of communication should they be separated. Those had been their most precious possessions back at the orphanage, and it had been a pain to hide from the keepers. Now, he had to block Hostias' from their channel to keep him and the keepers from comming them. After a few minutes, he handed them back to their respective owners, and Tarrik and Zarya didn't waste time putting them back in their pocket for safekeeping.

For the first time since they came aboard, she truly looked at the boys she had begun to think as friends. So young, yet so smart in many ways, forced to grow out of childish behaviours without parents to shield them from the world. Or galaxy, in their case, which is worse. The grief they felt was almost tangible around them, yet they didn't cry. Later, maybe when it would be safe to do so without being found.

Her own emotions were still all over the place. The wall she normally kept up to separate other's feelings from hers was crumbled, leaving her vulnerable to them. The former 18 years old felt like she would burst into tears as soon as she opened her mouth, so she didn't. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she had felt this way, never having been an easy crier, yet here she was.

As pathetic as she felt, she couldn't help feeling like she deserved to cry. She hadn't taken the time to grieve her family and friends yet, the ones in her first life. And she hadn't cried for herself either. The life she lost out of the blue, barely an adult and without any memory of how it happened. Now, with her guard down more than ever, she felt like breaking down.

Zarya was about to let out a sob when she felt it. A small, foreign and distant feeling reaching out to her, trying confusedly to comfort her. Yet she couldn't help but find it familiar, like… home. It felt like coming home.

She perked up, gaining the attention of the two boys.

"Zarya?", prodded Novi.

The ship was starting to make noises again, meaning that she didn't have much time before its departure. She got up and followed the feeling, walking towards the doors, still opened from the last exchange of goods.

"What are you doing?", asked Tarrik.

"Do you think she's doing that thing again?"

"No, but I do think she's going to do something stupid. Zarya get away from the doors!"

She looked back at them, a hand on the door. Their transport was already lifting, and she was left to make a decision right now, or it would be too late. Without knowing, she had already made her choice.

"There's something I need to find. I'll keep in touch and find you later, I promise."

And with that, she jumped out of the ship, the closed doors cutting off the surprised cries of her two friends. The ground being farther than she had thought at first, she landed roughly on the hard ground on her side and after rolling a few times, she heard a cracking sound, which could only be the sole electronic device on her person breaking under her weight. Zarya groaned in pain and annoyance.

"Aw, what a load of bentha poo."

**(**

**Finally! This chapter just didn't want to be written, I swear! Anyhow, more action than the last one, right? Too much?**

**It would be accurate to say that a lot as changes; The kids aren't as safe from their control chip as they thought, Hostias is left at the orphanage in a terrifying twist, and now Zarya left the other two for… what, exactly? What could make her want to stay on this planet any longer? Any theories?**

**And the boys, will they make it to Rodia? It was a logical choice for Novi, since he is a rodian and maybe he'll be able to bring Tarrik without much fuss, but who knows if a Chiss can be accepted so easily. No worries, this won't be the last of them we see!**

**Again, thank you to Mads-Chikistorm, thatfanboi and OldWorldVulture (Your suggestions help a lot, thank you!) for the comments, and thanks for adding my story to your follows or favorites! It encourages me a lot to see people read my story! **

**Until next time!**

**-Maginary**

**)**

***Disclaimer: I don't own anything Star Wars related, only my OCs***


	7. Tug of Mind

Chapter 7: Tug of Mind

Well, this was quite the mess.

Zarya lied down on her back, watching the ship she just jumped out of fly away, up in the blue sky until she couldn't see it anymore. She didn't move for a few minutes, still finding it hard to believe that after all this time, all the scheming and the late nights working on a way to leave this dust ball of a planet, she'd abandoned it all. Just like that. _And for what?_

She sat up slowly and put her left hand in her pocket, taking out pieces of her comlink. She looked down at the broken communication device mournfully, knowing that without it, she wouldn't be able to check up on Tarrik and Novi. She carefully placed the pieces back in her pocket, making sure to not lose a single part. Something to worry about later. Right now, she had to find out where she succeeded in landing herself so gracefully.

The girl looked around to try and situate herself. The building next to her had a large, garage-like door filled with boxes, most likely some sort of trade post or storage unit. She stood on a landing platform made of hardened sand, connected to the building. Getting out of here before a ship came and crushed her would be a good start. Shelter would be next, since the suns were already getting quite low, and it didn't take long for the desert to cool down drastically at night.

She felt the weird presence again, tugging at the edge of her mind.

Sighing exasperatedly, she got up and followed the direction it seemed to originate from. She was already knee deep in this Force thingy, why not worsen her situation some more?

All of this better be worth straying from the path she'd chosen.

(( ))

After walking for a few hours, the cold, fatigue and stress took their hold on her, forcing her to take shelter for the night. Fortunately, she had stumbled upon a city a while ago. Unfortunately, it was a huge, HUGE city, with its inhabitants just as rambunctious and trigger happy as the village she was accustomed to. All of this quickly got her feeling lost and paranoid, looking over her shoulder every few seconds and jumping at every shadow. In this life, Zarya was never one to seek company, but she never felt more alone than at that moment, in the middle of the night in a place she didn't recognize filled with shady characters, with nowhere to go.

Her only clue was the small tug she felt at the edge of her mind, calling to her.

When the sun was about to rise, she got out of her shelter, a closed shop she'd managed to get in by the small, open window. She snuck out the same way, twisting uncomfortably in the tiny opening to fall down feet first in the sand. The air was still slightly cold, but to her, it was the perfect temperature to walk in compared to the unbearable heat of the day.

Very few people where out and about at this time, the ones up all night having just left home for the day, and the others barely awake yet. Only a few seemed to get up early, most likely to start working or enjoy the cool weather.

As she started to walk again, the young girl winced at the pain in her muscles from all the exercise of the previous day. It seems her young body wasn't used to all this movement yet, and today she was paying for her lack of endurance. Hands in her pockets, her left one playing with the comlink's broken pieces, she pushed on none the less, hoping to find a place to stay before the suns reached their highest point in the sky.

As the air and the ground started to heat up with the suns' arrival, Zarya grew more and more uncomfortable and desperate. She tried to focus on walking towards what seemed to be calling to her, because if she didn't, she worried she might start crying. The sand that got in her sandals and clothes was rough, her hunger only grew with time and exhaustion pushed her emotions out of the barrier she kept them behind most of the time. How she wished she had stayed with her friends on that ship…

In an attempt to swallow back the tears that threatened to leave her eyes, she looked up from the ground, blinking rapidly and breathing deeply. That was when an impression of déjà vu struck her, slowing her movements to a stop.

She was in some kind of plaza, filled with many shops, restaurants in different stages of filthy and merchants stands reminiscent of the ones back at the market near the orphanage. Yet here, it was much bigger and filled with many more people. She was certain she had never been here before, but somehow, she knew this place.

The tugging had become stronger, yet less precise with all the people around. At the end of the morning, many seemed to be gathered here to buy or sell stuff, and the sheer quantity of emotions floating about was quickly giving her a headache. She couldn't follow the weird feeling, but she still knew where to go, and where to avoid. It was as if she had walked those streets before, in another life. Even a few faces seemed familiar somehow, even though she knew nobody here.

Still, she followed her instincts, walking a path she knew was the way to go. It didn't take too long before she had left most of the crowd behind, the commercial area fading into small house units stuck to each other. Every one of them seemed identical to the others from an outsider's eye, yet she still knew which one to go to. Just as she reached the front of the house, a hand lifted to knock on its door, Zarya hesitated.

What was she doing? She still didn't know where she was, and even less what, or who, was behind this door. In this life, nothing good had ever happened to her, and this was doubtfully going to change, no matter where she was on this planet. What could she be hoping for, some kind family to take her in and shelter her from this harsh world? She may look like a child, but at heart, she was nearly and adult and completely disillusioned from these childish, useless hopes—

The door opened without warning, startling the girl and making her step back fearfully with a squeak she would never admit uttering, her hands close to her chest. She looked up to a kind looking lady with surprised brown eyes looking down at her.

The woman, human, was wearing a worn out beige tunic and pants, her dark hair tied in a braid and bunched up at the base of her head in a bun. Just from a first look Zarya could tell that money was hard to get by in this woman's life, yet her appearance was still as clean as it could be considering the environment.

The lady seemed to analyse Zarya with her eyes too, and the girl wondered what she was seeing. Probably some lost child, skinny and dirty with bags under her eyes and clothes too big for her tiny frame.

Before any of them could say anything, a loud rumble came out of Zarya's stomach, making her blush to her roots in embarrassment. What a way to make a first impression.

The startlingly loud sound made the woman smile slightly in amusement, a hint of concern behind her eyes. In her worry, she kneeled down in front of the child, finally speaking up.

"You seem to be hungry. Do you have a home to go to?"

Slowly getting out of her shock, Zarya shook her head slowly, making the lady frown slightly, her worry increasing.

"A family, perhaps? Or some kind of caretaker?"

More head shakes answered her inquiries.

"Well then. If you have nowhere to be, would you like to come in? I'm sure I could find something to feed you, and we can find out what to do after, does that sound alright?"

Her voice was kind and quiet, the one used to speak to a child without necessarily babying them. Still, Zarya would have been a bit offended to be spoken to this way, but the thought of food was enough to distract her from her pride. Plus, she couldn't really blame the woman; she _was_, technically, six years old.

When she realized she still hadn't given her an answer, Zarya cleared her throat, making her realize how thirsty she was, and spoke in a quiet tone.

"If I'm not too much of a burden? I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, I just don't know where to go…"

"Nonsense, I can't just leave someone in need outside all alone." She got up, taking a step in her home and leaving space for Zarya. "Come in, the weather is much too warm to stay in the open for long. What's your name?"

"I'm Zarya"

"It's nice to meet you Zarya. I'm Shmi Skywalker."

Oh. Wait. OH. Crap. What even—

Yeah, might want to get in the house of _Skywalker_ and wipe out the probably stupid expression on her face before Shmi changes her mind.

(( ))

After eating everything and anything Shmi put in front of her and drinking as much water as she dared without making too big a dent in the house's limited resources, Zarya finally felt better. Rest and a good cleaning were still in her agenda for the near future, but other things would take priority by the look on Shmi's face.

Zarya had told her about the orphanage she came from, and about her escape, but she changed the story a bit, saying she had been alone, and her leaving that place was on an impulse of the moment when she had seen an opportunity. When she finished telling her edited life story and recent adventure in between mouthfuls of fruits and bread, (Finally, something other than tasteless rations!), the two sat in silence, her lost in her thoughts while Shmi decided her next course of action.

"I have a son," she started," he's about your age. He and I live here as slaves, we belong to a Toydarian named Watto. In a way, we are lucky since he doesn't mistreat us, per say. Still, this kind of life isn't one I would wish for anyone, especially a young girl like you who's already been through so much. But if you don't mind lying low, maybe you could stay a while? It's not like Watto comes at this house often, so he shouldn't discover you anytime soon."

Zarya looked at her, speechless. She knew this woman was kind, but this…. This went beyond her expectations. Here she was, a complete stranger, and she didn't even hesitate to greet her in her home and share her already meagre supplies for as long as she wanted.

The young girl didn't know what she should answer. She had decided a while ago that she wouldn't meddle with the story unless absolutely necessary, and she was offered a direct access to it right now, with the help of a mother and her boy that she still had yet to see; the chosen one himself. It would be much safer for her to leave, find Tarrik and Novi and start over somewhere else, away from glowing swords, laser guns and force powers.

Nonetheless, she couldn't help but be tempted anyway.

She had left the ship and her friends for a reason, hadn't she? Despite trying to keep them at arm's length, she still grew to care for the three boys that had followed her around against her wishes. Despite that, she still left for a reason, a purpose she had no knowledge of. This could be it. But did she really want to follow what the freaking _Force_ told her to? Didn't she prefer to choose her own way, independent from outside influences, without having to worry for her life at every turn?

Her hand strayed to the back of her head. At this point, she doubted she would ever be safe anyway.

"I don't know how long I would be staying" she finally answered.

Shmi smiled at her patiently. "That's alright. You're welcome to stay as long as you need. Right now, I doubt you have a better option anyway."

She didn't know what to say to that.

She still felt a tug in her mind, although it was calmer now. Another thing she would have to consider later. She has an idea on what is calling to her by now, and it leaves her with more questions than answers.

**(**

**Hello! It's been a while, I know… Not to worry! I should find more time to write in the next weeks.**

**Another chapter of the story is opening, and big decisions are to be made! Help me if you'd like, I always take your opinions into consideration, so leave a review, even if only to share your thoughts or feelings, they never fail to brighten my day!**

**Thank you to Mads-Chikistorm, OldWorldVulture and thatfanboi for the reviews! **

**Until Next Time,**

**-Maginary**

***Disclaimer: I don't own anything Star Wars related, only my OCs***

**)**


	8. Visions of Bittersweet

Chapter 8: Vision of Bittersweet

Young Anakin was… way too energetic. Zarya didn't know what she was expecting, exactly, but an adorable child barely older than her, talking a mile a minute and constantly jumping from one subject to another wasn't it.

Maybe she had pictured him to be more dramatic? Prone to bursts of anger? Talking about creating a galaxy wide empire in the name of peace? Granted, from what she remembers from the movies, his fall to power and greed was gradual, so no one would see red flags around him just yet.

It was just incredibly weird to stand next to an 8 years old Darth Vader who had an aura of childish innocence following him, talking like they knew each other since forever. Their current subject of conversation was a debate on if it was better to have a droid with a personality or one without, and for the first time since the young boy decided they were friends at first sight, Zarya felt the need to add her own opinion I between his rambling. It was definitely a first for her, even among her lost friends.

"No but - hear me out. A droid with a personality is more unpredictable, its loyalty could shift for reasons of its own, or do something that it wasn't meant to do. You have way less control on them than if it was just a robot with a specific programming," she argued.

"You mean as unpredictable and independent as a live person?" Anakin gave her an amused smile when Zarya could only open her mouth and close it again, finding no argument against that.

"There's more than enough of those around," she finally managed to get out, ignoring his snickers." No need to add to the pile, even less if they are more dangerous than regular people should they _choose_ to harm someone."

"But this one won't be dangerous though, look at him!" He gesticulated towards the mess of wires and metal parts of what would soon become C3PO. "I'm creating him so he can help mom around, the last thing I want is for him to hurt anyone. He's going to be super smart and listen to orders, while still being himself!"

"You just want to make things interesting and annoy people," she deadpanned. "There is no other reason you would give him a rambling tendency and his dramatic flair.

"Not true!" He was hiding a smile, the little shit.

"My, I'm glad to see you two get along so well," sais Shmi as she entered her son's room, observing the children squabbling over the powered down droid that Anakin was working on. Zarya couldn't help but smile at the calm feeling that always seemed to accompany her.

"Sure! I mean, she's pretty cool, for a six years old—"

"Hey! I'm seven!"

"— Plus, we've got to get along if she stays around for a while. I'd hate to argue with her all the time."

If the annoying higher power had anything to say about it, she'll be around him for longer than he expected, unfortunately for her.

"We were arguing just now, no?" she pointed out.

"Yeah, but not meanly, like when Greedo does it…"

Wait, wasn't that name familiar?

"Ani, you have to stop antagonizing him," Shmi protested.

"I never do! Anyway, he's just like most people around here, mean and selfish. You're lucky you found us first, you could've easily knocked on the door of someone who would have left you outside to starve or something," he added.

Zarya hummed noncommittedly while Shmi gave her son a look for his lack of tact. Yep, luck. Aaaaaaallll luck, nothing to do with aforementioned higher power. Aka most likely the Force. It was strange that he didn't feel the pull thing like she did, wasn't he supposed to be super strong in the Force? The feeling had calmed down a lot since Anakin arrived, probably from his master's shop, but still ever present, which confirmed Zarya's theory on who, exactly, she was being led to. Maybe it was one-sided?

"Or was it because you followed that feeling, that thing in your mind that just, pulls you towards things? I kinda feel it on you, it's weird."

And she spoke too soon.

"A… pull?" she inquired. Anakin's answer was to shrug, distracted by the wires he was connecting.

"Ani was always a special child," Shmi answered in his stead. "His instincts are better than most, it has gotten him out of all kinds of trouble in the past." She looked amused at the sheepish look the boy hid by bowing his head, letting his hair hide his face. "Well, I'm going to make dinner. Ani, would you mind setting blankets and pillows on the sofa in the living room for our guest? We can't have her sleep on the floor, can we."

"Ok! The ones on the shelf in the closet?"

His mother threw a yes over her shoulder as she headed for the kitchen, leaving the children alone once again. Anakin continued tinkering on the droid while Zarya thought about the implications of the force that connected them, wondering what it wanted from them. A trick to bring her in the plot, contrary to her first desire to avoid it, maybe. Or, it could be less about her and more about Anakin. He _is_ the Skywalker, the main character so to speak.

'I swear to whatever god there is, if this is a trick to make us fall for each other down the line, I'm going to throw myself inside the first volcano I finds on Mustafar, mark my words.'

"You know," Anakin interrupted the silence. "You're kind of weird for a kid."

"How so?"

"You talk like an adult, with big words and stuff. And you don't act like a kid either."

Wow, if he could see that in less than an hour, she _really_ had to work on pretending to be a real child instead of a reincarnation.

"I had a peculiar childhood." She left it at that.

"Really? I couldn't tell."

Eight years old and already sarcastic? She might actually start to like this one.

Unless he becomes a Sith. Then she's running away as far as possible, which is pretty far considering the number of planets she could find refuge on in this galaxy.

(( ))

Everything had been just fine since she came here. Nothing had happened while in Anakin's company, and so she had slowly started to relax from her previously tense position. It was confusing to her, since the Force (yes, she did finally accept that _The_ Force was a thing now.) had been so insistent on her getting here, yet nothing had happened. No answers, no leads to its reasons, nothing. She had jumped when he first took her hand to take her to C3PO, but nothing happened to justify her apprehension.

She had learned a lot about him, this planet and their situation in the short time she's been in his company, which was not surprising considering the way the kid barely stopped talking about everything and anything. Zarya only added her own two cents when he asked her something, content to listen instead.

What she had forgotten to consider, is how she had quickly made a habit of avoiding to look people in the eyes earl on to avoid the onslaught of thoughts and memories she is hit by when doing it since her ability came. So, when she helped him arrange the make-shift bed in the living room, which was tiny but surprisingly pretty in its simple furnishing, she was caught by surprise when she accidentally looked in his sky-blue eyes.

They weren't young children anymore, nor slaves, but adults, free and content. They were standing on top of a cliff, overlooking a never-ending ocean with a gigantic tree just behind them, casting shade on them and shielding them from two burning suns. The heat around them was unforgivable, yet the shade and specks of water from the sea that reached them kept them cool. The ledge was so close, they should have been wary of their position, but it wasn't menacing to them. It was more tempting, inviting them to make the decision themselves, to take the last few steps together and jump into the waiting waves bellow.

Side by side, they looked toward the horizon, a feeling of calm and excitement surrounding them. As if nothing else could reach them. Without a word, they glanced to each other, a smile coming naturally to their face. Anakin reached in the pocket of his dark brown tunic, taking what turned out to be a cylindrical device made of metal. He casually threw it in the air, and Zarya watched as it descended in slow motion, forming an arc that shouldn't be possible with gravity alone, only to land right in her waiting palm.

The children came back to reality suddenly, with the uncomfortable sensation of waking up from one of those free-falling dreams. Eyes wide, they were still looking in each other's eyes, searching if the other knew what was going on. The only thing left from this… vision, was the feeling of belonging that lingered.

Her current predicament didn't matter anymore, she was not stressed, nor worried about what would happen to her in the near future. As the silence stretched and they looked at the other, brushing each other's thoughts and feelings without any fear or barrier, they knew one thing for certain; they were connected in a way they won't ever experience with anyone else.

"Do you know what's happening?" Anakin asked. "I mean, I'm used to weird things happening around me, but this…"

"I have a vague idea," the girl admitted, for the first time unwilling to lie.

"Tell me? I'm sure what you have is better than my soulmate theory."

That got a snort out of her, which he tentatively answered with a grin.

"What! How _else_ do you explain this mind reading thing?" he insisted while giggling.

What a weird kid she was stuck with. Smart for his age, yet still dreaming of fate and flying towards the stars. Even now, she could still see him entirely, every hope and dream. She knew it was the same from his side, yet she was ready to bet what he saw was less pure and innocent. Frighteningly enough, he was closer to the truth than he believed. Or at least, the closest thing from this universe she knew of.

All of this didn't change the fact that she didn't belong, in a way. She wasn't supposed to be here, even less be connected to him in any way. Nor did it change the fact that she was an 18 years old (19? She's already been here for more than a year.) in a child's body, with vague memories that came with having lived a life before this one. Luckily, he couldn't yet dive deep enough in her mind to find that out. Should she tell him? How would he take it, would he even understand?

Maybe it was a conversation better left for another day. Right now, sharing the little she knew without throwing herself under the bus. She sighed.

"What do you know about the Jedi knights?"

(( ))

She'd explained to him what she knew of the Force, telling him it's this kind of energy that is present in every living being, and that it connects them. She theorized about how it has a will of its own, and decided to connect them in a stronger way than most. That he and her were sensitive to the Force and could feel it and even influence it in a way most couldn't, just like the Jedi. Zarya kept it dumbed down, not to give him a hint that she knew more about it than what was more or less common knowledge, should you ask the right people.

They had to stop when Shmi called them for dinner, and they kept a light conversation while eating, mostly the small family asking Zarya about herself and her past, to which she answered as truthfully as she was comfortable with.

As soon as they were dismissed for bed, the children took back all the blankets and pillows they'd placed on the sofa and ran back to Anakin's room, creating a pillow fortress while talking quietly and laughing in between. She hadn't truly felt like a child until that moment, so carefree and unhurried compared to the orphanage.

The subject came often back to the Force, and Anakin even started rambling on and on about how they could become Jedi together, going on adventures and saving as many people as they could, while waving around swords made of light and using magical powers. She smiled indulgingly through it, feeling bittersweet about the idea. Picking up on it, he quickly changed the subject.

"You know, I had never seen an ocean before," Anakin suddenly confessed. They were both lying on their back on his bed, surrounded by their pillow fort, only accompanied by the small light of what would act as an eye for his droid. "It's _way_ bigger than what I imagined. There was so much water, it seemed like there was no end to it!"

Well, he was from a desert planet after all, and had yet to leave it in this period of time. Neither had she, technically. But maybe… just maybe, it wouldn't do any harm to share a part of her past. Just so she could erase the longing expression on his face.

"Close your eyes," she decided before hesitation kicked in. "I want to try something."

Without hesitation, he turned his head toward her, shutting his eyes just before she did the same. Now, she didn't know how to control any of her newfound abilities, and she'd never done anything like it before, but she was going to trust in his own strong connection to the force.

She thought back long ago on a vacation she had went with her family at a beach, feet in the wet sand and waves approaching loudly, licking her ankles before receding. She pictured the blue-green of the ocean, the song of the seagulls and the caress of the salty wind, remembering as many details as possible.

"I can see it," His voice was quiet, almost reverent.

A smile came to her face, unknowingly mirroring his own.

So could she.

**(**

**It's been months, I'm so sorry! I'll try to post another sooner, but unfortunately, no promises!**

**Thank you to every new follower, and those who left a review too! (OldWorldVulture, Love Stories00 and Mads-Chikistorm, my most constant source of encouragement)**

**Well those two bonded fast. Tell me, what do you think each element in the vision represented? Also, do you want to see more of them on this planet, or should we jump right into the first movie? Leave a review!**

**Until next time,**

**-Maginary**

***Disclaimer: I don't own anything Star Wars related, only my OCs***

**)**


	9. Lucky Theft

Chapter 9: Lucky Theft

"What do you _mean_, you didn't even think about asking me? You know I'm good at fixing stuff! You watch me all the time when I work on 3PO or my speeder, and you even try to help me sometimes!"

Zarya watched, amused, as Anakin continued ranting with all the annoyance a nine years old boy can summon, stealing the mechanical parts from her hands and immediately starting to assess the damage. In her defence, she truly thought the broken comm was lost to her since she accidentally crushed it, and she still doesn't have much hope of fixing it.

Plus, a lot has been on her mind these last few months, and she preferred not to think too much about her little group of friends since their separation. Who knew where Novi and Tarrik traveled to, their final destination still wasn't decided on when they broke out of the orphanage. Although, she was betting on Ryloth, since Novi could easily find help from his specie (How would the rodians react to Tarrik? Did they have anything against the Chiss people?).

And she really didn't want to think about what happened to Hostias.

"Do you really think it can be repaired?" she asked after a minute of watching him organising the pieces. "There are a lot of tiny parts, and most of its frame is broken."

Anakin made a humming noise. "Its main parts are mostly intact, it just looks worse than it is, 'cuz it's in pieces. Seems like I just need to reassemble it, find a new import for sound, and a new frame, too. All of this is easy to find in the shop."

"I don't want you to steal from Watto's shop again," Zarya said with a frown. It probably looked more adorable than stern on her childish face, but it got the sentiment across. "I know you can be discreet, but he could get so angry with you if he ever finds out."

"It'll be fine, he has so much junk he won't notice anything. 'Specially since what I'll take is so little." With that careless answer, he immediately started to repair what he could, installed on his small desk near his shut down protocol droid.

Zarya gave a sigh, but let it slide. He was right, but there were still risks to going behind your master's back, no matter how better off they were than most slaves. In addition to that, should Watto ever decide to come to the Skywalker home to look for his stolen pieces himself, he could easily find out about her.

Surprisingly, the slaver was still none the wiser about the new addition to the household. Oh, he has seen her many times, yet never thought she was anything more than a friend of his youngest slave, although a clingy one. He was very rarely at their home, having no reason to, and what they did in their free time didn't matter to him as long as their work was done. If Anakin's friends didn't disrupt him in his work time, he didn't care for them and by extension, didn't care about Zarya, who she was or where she came from.

It was fortunate for her, that Anakin and Shmi were given as much freedom as they had. For slaves with a bomb under their skin, anyway. She saw many slaves around that were not as lucky as them.

She highly doubts she would've had that luck, had she stayed at the orphanage.

Since she came here, Anakin's mother had refused to hear her when Zarya talked about finding somewhere else to stay, probably because of how attached to her Anakin was. That woman had made her mind the moment she found them the first time in their makeshift pillow-fort, talking and giggling like children their age were supposed to. By now, after almost five months, they were as close as twins, and people that knew them now found it unusual to see one without the other. Even when they were apart, they found a way to communicate with their connection. Or, more accurately, Anakin mentally nagged her until she started responding to him.

They had found a way to share their current emotion with each other, but she realized that the more they did it, the more difficult it was to hide them from the other, too. They could mostly control the intensity of the constant flow between them, and the distance there was between each other also influenced their link. Anakin didn't like being too far from her, since they couldn't sense each other when that was the case and he grew fond of sensing her. Whenever one of them was feeling down, angry or bored, the other could project their own feelings to counteract the negativity.

To the boy's delight, the more time passed, the more they could sense each other from afar. Like now, Zarya could feel a trickle of amusement and suspicion coming from him.

"By the way, I found a stash of truguts and wupiupis under the sofa the other day, and mom commented on how she kept finding some in places she didn't remember, like in her pockets or on the kitchen counter. I wonder how they got there."

Zarya mourned her privacy. He was smiling, the little… sleemo. (Oh _stars_, she really spends too much time with him if she's starting to use his insults.) Maybe she could try and play it off?

"Oh? How weird, what a mystery."

The greatest comeback of all time, she swears to _god_…

"You're a terrible liar," Anakin laughed. "You go around stealing people and nag me when I steal from Watto? I call that being a hypocrite."

"I'm not a bad liar, I just can't lie to you!" Or as a child. Her mind sometimes seems to recede to the one of a toddler, damn her young body. "And _I_ know what I'm doing when I steal, _you_ don't!"

"Whatever, I have to go to the shop before the flying ball of greed can get mad at me. See you tonight! I'll get those missing parts for you!"

And with that inadequate goodbye, he ran out of the room before she could get in her own two cents. He'd learned early on that there was no winning against her in an argument. She was stubborn as a mule and used logic a normal kid his age could not compete against, and so a hasty retreat seemed to be his go-to option.

In his defense, they never really said goodbye, being in each other's emotional field all the time…

With a final look at the tiny mechanical parts all over is desk, she got up to get ready for the day, a hesitant flare of hope blooming in her heart.

(( ))

By now, it was easy for her to stick to the shadows along the walls, hiding behind the passing people and ducking under windows and neighboring merchant stands to stay out of view (and out of the burning, _burning_ suns' twin glares). After months of pickpocketing and shop lifting, she had become uncomfortably good at it, and her small stature only aided her in her endeavor.

Before, she was completely against stealing from people, although she did understand when people had no other choice to avoid starving or worse. Those that stole out of greed or malevolence… well, that was another story.

But now that she's found herself on a merciless planet, inhabited by scum and killers at every corner, her morals had shifted quite a bit when it came to taking what you need at the detriment of others. If she had been of age, she would've gladly taken a job to earn her money in a more respectful way, but nearing her 8th birthday, no one would be paying her anything worthwhile. And so, stealing from those who were better off was her best option.

She only stole from those she knows have more than they need, and are less than polite when talking to those they deem beneath them, like slavers, rich merchants and scumbags. Who was she to decide who did or didn't deserve to be theft victims? No one. She was just trying to survive and help those who helped her so selflessly.

And the many times she stole only to give it all to homeless children and families or in places Shmi could find them made it even more justifiable in her book.

(Maybe she was only giving herself excuses. Either way, it was hard to stop now that it was so easy.)

Today, her normal ease at this delicate skill was interrupted, to her growing frustration. Who was to blame? Anakin and his all-over-the-place-emotions, of course. She thought she had grown accustomed to the intruding feelings that weren't her own, but this afternoon, it was like he was on a roller-coaster, going from intrigued, awed, confused, aggravated, amused, bitter and relieved in less than ten minutes. At least it wasn't her first time dealing with his childish mood swings or she would have been caught stealing from that tall Ming Po's stand. (Some wupiupis were left forgotten while he was talking to a potential client.)

Still, she could have gone without the distraction.

A few hours later, and with less money than she would've liked, she decided to follow her connection to Anakin, since he seemed to be exuding way more excitement than normally, among other things. Her first thought was that Watto asked him to compete in a pod race again, since the next one was only in a few days.

As she weaved through the thinning crowd, she noticed how the wind was slowly growing in strength, and people left earlier than normal. A storm was approaching, and her friend was way too far from home, weirdly enough. He was never one to explore or wander away without her.

Worry now mixed with her earlier disgruntlement she hurried to reach him at the other side of the market.

The first thing she noticed, was the people around him, and how they seemed to be accompanying him while he bought something from Jira. (Never stole from her, she was way too kind and gave free pallies to all the kids visiting her despite being poor herself.) It only took her a second to know who they were, the Gungan and astromech droid were very recognizable. In a daze, she approached them at a slower pace, her mind racing.

She wasn't ready for this, it was way too soon, her projects weren't finished. And how would this go, would it be identical to the movie, or will her presence change something? Did she want to change things? Would it worsen the future?

As panic rose in her with every step she took, Anakin turned towards her, sensing her distress. In the few seconds it took him and the new arrivals to reach her, she quickly studied them, noting the differences between them and their movie counterparts. Of course, they wouldn't look exactly the same, and it was somewhat terrifying to see them as actual, unique people. It made it more real, those weren't actors in a fantasy movie but people, in a much bigger and advanced universe.

"Zaria!" Anakin hurried to her, taking her by the elbow when she seemed too dazed to follow by herself and directing her towards home not to waste time while the storm approached. The Jedi, Gungan and queen in disguise looked at her curiously. "Are you alright? You look a little spooked."

She didn't, but he knew better. Zarya shook her head to try and clear it before talking.

"I'm fine, just looking for you before the storm could take you by surprise. Who are they?"

"Oh! Those are people I met at the shop, Padmé, Qui-Gon and Jar Jar. The droid is Artoo. They aren't from around here, and their ship is too far to make it in time before the storm hits, so I offered to bring them home!"

R2-D2 beeped in greeting as she hummed in acceptance, observing Qui-Gon the best she could from how small she was compared to his towering frame, careful not to look him directly in the eyes. Not unsettled by her scrutiny, he observed her right back, smiling politely.

"Hello Zaria. Are you a friend of Anakin? Or perhaps a sibling?"

How could someone have a voice so calming? She found herself calming down immediately, and wondered if he helped her through the Force too.

"Friend," she responded. "I didn't have a family or home before he and his mother took me in."

"That's very kind of them," chimed in Padmé. "Especially considering…"

She trailed off, not knowing if it was rude to bring up the 'slave thing'. Zarya couldn't help but smile hesitantly at her, agreeing with the statement. She really was lucky to have them.

"It was really no problem. For some reason, we're doing much better since she came into our lives." Anakin nodded exaggeratedly, with an amused smile directed at Zarya who scowled mockingly at him for the comment. The last thing those people needed to know was that she was stealing for a living.

"Do you have a family name?" Asked Qui-Gon.

"No. No family name."

No one asked her any more questions.

(( ))

They entered the home, Zarya closing the door after everyone was in to keep the wind and sand out while Anakin was calling for his mother. Everyone looked around, and Zarya could see how the human observed the rough walls and old, worn down machines and furniture.

Jar Jar, oblivious, found nothing wrong with the place, if his 'Dissen cozy' said anything.

"These are my friends, mom." Of course, the kid offered no more explanation. Zarya hid a grimace when the situation felt all too familiar to her.

"I'm Qui-Gon Jinn," the Jedi introduced himself with a slight nod of the head.

"Come on, I want to show you something I'm working on!" Anakin exclaimed as he took Padmé's hand, chattering excitedly about C3PO just like he did when he met Zarya, R2 right on their heels.

Zarya stayed with Shmi instead of joining them and their growing relationship, to explain the situation apologetically. Feeding those visitors for dinner will put quite the dent in their food reserve for the week.

As Shmi passed by her with a touch on the head to greet Qui-Gon and Jar Jar properly, Zarya used the distraction to slip her gains from today in the small bag hidden in Shmi's room near her desk. Circling back to the kitchen, she started to put some fruits on a plate from her stepping stool, looking back innocently when the two guests and her mother figure came in to sit. She highly doubted she was fooling the older woman, but she ignored that.

"Thank you, Zarya. Would you mind going to get Ani and his new friend before we eat?"

"Going!"

Hopping down, she immediately ran to Anakin's room with more enthusiasm than she was truly feeling.

"And no running in the house!" Shmi told her with laughter in her voice.

"You have quite the interesting duo on your hands," said Qui-Gon.

Shmi gave a sigh. "You have no idea. I'm lucky to have them both, though."

**(**

**A slow one this time, but we all know the pace will be faster in the future ones! I'm not sure Zarya likes it when things go exactly as in the movie… Neither do I.**

**Soooooo, to fix that, what do you think Zarya should change in the near future? And how?**

**Thank you for all my new followers, and a special thanks to fantasy.92, Mads-Chikistorm, darth valkorion, ask3334u, Love Stories00, thatfanboi and OldWorldVulture for the reviews!**

**Until next time!**

**-Maginary**

**)**


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